Story by Edina Tan/Red Sports. Photos by Chua Kai Yun/Red Sports.

Syed Hussein B Syed Negaib A (#403) of Pasir Ris Sec takes home gold with a timing of 09:44.86. (Photo © Chua Kai Yun/Red Sports)

Syed Hussein B Syed Negaib A (#403) of Pasir Ris Sec takes home gold with a timing of 9:44.86. (Photo 1 © Chua Kai Yun/Red Sports)

Bishan Stadium, Tuesday, April 19, 2016 — Syed Hussein Aljunied of Pasir Ris Secondary took home the B Division Boys’ 3000 metres gold medal at the 57th National Schools Track and Field Championships, clocking a timing of 9 minutes 44.86 seconds.

The electronically-timed championship record for this event still stands at 9:21.26, held by Chinese High School alumnus Jeffrey Ng since 2003.

Hussein had also claimed the B Division Boys’ individual title at the 56th National Schools Cross Country Championships three weeks ago.

Fang Yiyang of Commonwealth Secondary and Er Wen Han of Hwa Chong Institution came in second and third with timings of 9:50.79 and 9:51.38 respectively.

From the start, Hussein pulled away from the rest of the competition, followed closely by Austin Pua of St. Joseph’s Institution. The duo pulled away from the rest of the pack, which started to disperse by the end of the second lap.

By the third lap, a second pack consisting of Yiyang, Wen Han, Timothy Liau of Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) and Ruben S/O Loganathan of Guangyang Secondary had formed, with Hussein still maintaining the lead.

The final lap saw Hussein speeding up, leaving Yiyang and Wen Han to fight neck and neck for second in the last 100 metres. Hussein finished a comfortable first, while Yiyang crossed the finishing line barely a second before Wen Han.

When asked about the race, Hussein said, “It was a good race but the heat was unbearable. Due to the heat before the race, my coach told me to aim for position instead of timing. I gave my best in the race under the weather conditions.”

“I would like to thank my coaches, parents and friends for this win,” he added.

Meanwhile, Hussein will now focus on his 1500m final, which will take place on Friday, April 29 at the National Stadium.

B Div 3000m (Boys) Results
1st Syed Hussein B Syed Negaib A (#403, Pasir Ris Sec) — 09:44.86
2nd Fang Yiyang (#507, Commonwealth Sec) — 09:50.79
3rd Er Wen Han (#539, HCI) — 09:51.38
4th Ruben S/O Loganathan (#214, Guangyang Sec) — 09:56.15
5th Timothy Liau Ke Qin (#157, ACS (Barker)) — 09:56.94
6th Song Ivan (#337, SJI) — 10:12.92
7th Chai Wen Bin (#36, Catholic High) — 10:13.32
8th Jerrell Lim Dao Rong (#304, St Andrew’s Sec) — 10:13.56
9th Brian Ye Zhicheng (#211, Guangyang Sec) — 10:17.66
10th Ng Chun Wei Nixon (#140, Singapore Sports School) — 10:20.88
11th Lim Jie Han, August (#607, Unity Sec) — 10:25.44
12th Lai Ziqing George (#548, HCI) — 10:26.55
13th Joshua Yong Zhi Hao (#274, RI) — 10:35.66
14th Pua Jun How Austin (#333, SJI) — 10:46.76
15th Lim Wei Chen Darel (#257, Queensway Sec) — 10:56.48

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